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Sunday, August 12, 2007
Do’s and don’ts of homeownership should be taught
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
“Do you have time to be bothered by an old lady?”
An 81-year-old woman was on the phone. She’d called for help with some problems in her neighborhood, Beaver Bend Estates, a 41-house subdivision off Beaver Ruin Road.
This widow asked that I not disclose her name but said she was speaking on behalf of elderly women who live in the neighborhood. Their issues are familiar to many. There’s the house with anywhere from 10 to 14 cars parked in the driveway and yard. And one whose owners put French doors on the garage and may be using it as an apartment.
None of this may seem particularly egregious — unless you live next to it.
Related link: Gwinnett Coalition for Health and Human Services 2007 Youth Survey (PDF)
In the past, I’ve written about the need for us to stay put, to work with our homeowners groups or bond with other caring neighbors to fight decay. But there’s a vital piece to this puzzle that, as far as I can tell, is still missing, and even though it’s a dicey subject, it needs to be addressed.
People of all ethnicities violate laws related to overcrowding, junk vehicles, outdoor storage, commercial vehicle parking and other issues. When I went on a tour of Beaver Bend with the senior citizen who called me, she made a point to say that a white homeowner was one of the chief offenders.
Often, though — and if you’ve ever witnessed Recorder’s Court, you’d know — violators are recent arrivals. Immigrants. Generally, Hispanics.
In their defense, some may be first-time home buyers or urban dwellers, ignorant to the do’s and don’ts of homeownership. Perhaps they need to be taught.
Too bad Latino advocacy groups don’t make this a pillar of their community service. And if they did, Gwinnett would be ground zero for teaching and training. Maybe, in the big scheme of things, knowing that it’s illegal to park a dozen cars in a front yard isn’t a top priority. But in Gwinnett, a destination point for immigrants, it’s an important issue, because not knowing leads to dislike, anger and misunderstanding.
On its Web site, the Latin American Association lists several programs offered to help Latinos reach self-sufficiency. Programs that build families, lead to employment, even homeownership.
But I didn’t see any class or information about taking care of that home and assimilating into the community once the organization teaches participants how to get it financed and purchased.
On Friday, I called the LAA and left a detailed message on what I was doing for the person who handles media calls. Her voice mail said she was available, but I never got a return call.
When it comes to neighborhood cleanup, Paul Allen of Norcross looms large. He’s tried several times to get Latino advocacy groups on board, to help the cause. A few years back, the Mexican Consulate of Atlanta sent an interpreter to attend a homeowners meeting.
Besides that, “we’ve had zero response,” Allen told me in an e-mail.
“I just want them to realize that my neighborhood is not Tijuana, nor will it be allowed to become such.”
In a neighborhood where buyers of existing homes tend to be Hispanic, that’s what an 81-year-old woman is trying to prevent, too.
— Rick Badie’s column appears on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Contact him at 770-263-3875 or e-mail rbadie@ajc.com.
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